Jul 11

“I could move about in only a limited way. Now I am able to move long distances,” he grins

by RICHARD STEPHENS on MARCH 8, 2017Mzimba Boma Malawi … It is far too easy for most people to take their feet and legs for granted. Each morning as our eyes open we move quickly from our beds and begin activities for the day. We do not give it a second thought. Walking from here to there takes place without even thinking; the bed to the kitchen, kitchen to konde (room to greet visitors), konde to the outdoors, and then to the broader world around us. We do it with ease, without thought. Our legs and feet are always there, and always ready to give us a lift wherever we want to go.

But what if they were not available to help us? How would we provide for ourselves? Our families? How would we go to church, to the store, to school, or how would we attend to our gardens to keep us alive?

Noel Nyasulu knows all those questions first hand? He cannot walk or move about more than just a small distance each day. Yet in spite of his difficulties, Noel is married and has five children. He is the preacher for a small congregation of 62 members in the Chiwata area.

In spite of his somewhat successful life, it has been most discouraging to be so limited in what he can do. He has often dreamt about the tasks he could accomplish with greater mobility. He would be able to do much more, help so many others, go much greater distances in his ministry.

Now he can!

While Noel saw little hope and even less expectation, some of his friends contacted Wilson Tembo, of the Malawi Project, with the story of his plight. Wilson put a PET unit in the back of the Malawi Project Toyota and traveled from Thondwe to Mzimba, some 591 kilometers (367 miles).

To Noel’s surprise and amazement, he can now move about with his brand new mobility unit and he sees greater opportunities to help others. “I could move about in only a limited way. Now I am able to move long distances,” he says with a broad grin across his face.